Keep an Eye on Your Uber Charges… You Could be Hit by “Vomit Fraud”

Keep track of your Uber charges. If you’re not careful you could be hit with hefty charges. Some Uber drivers are fraudulently charging customers $80 to $150 after falsely reporting that riders caused damage inside their vehicles. It’s called Uber vomit fraud because the charges are usually added on falsely claiming that riders vomited in the car, or other similar damages.

Uber’s policy stipulates that passengers can be charged a fee that ranges from $80 to $150 if they cause damage or make a significant mess in a driver’s vehicle. A user typically gets a notification saying that an “adjustment” has been applied to their bill, the alleged damage is given as a reason for the fee, and photos of the issue are included.

In a statement sent to Business Insider, an Uber spokesperson said, “Participating in fraudulent activity of any kind is a clear violation of our Community Guidelines. We are constantly evaluating our processes and technology related to these claims and will take appropriate action whenever fraud may be detected.”

The Miami Herald reports of incidents where drivers work together to bring fees on a single customer to as high as $300. The report includes incidents of passengers being wrongfully kicked off the app following a false vomit submission sent by the driver.

Cleaning fees are usually legitimate, so these fraud charges probably make up a small fraction. Still it’s a good idea to check your final bill from Uber and make sure that everything is in order.